The present disclosure relates to an oven, and particularly a baking oven that employs an oven rack that may be used both on rack guides/supporting sidewall shelf portions and also placed on a bottom surface of the oven chamber. It will be appreciated, however, that the disclosure may find application in related environments and applications.
Consumers like the flexibility offered by oven racks that can be mounted at different heights or locations within an oven chamber. That is, the oven chamber is typically a substantially cubical volume defined by a first or lower surface spaced from a second or upper surface, a pair of generally parallel sidewalls interconnecting the upper and lower surfaces, a rear wall, and a door that closes the front of the oven chamber and provides for selective access to the oven chamber. The door often includes a window so that the user can view the oven chamber through at least a portion of the door.
A typical oven design includes a series of die grooves or shelf portions integrally formed in the sidewalls so that one or more racks may be supported along opposite side edges by the shelf portions at various heights in the oven chamber. By way of example only, it is common to have two (2) or more shelf portions on each sidewall to allow one or more shelves or racks to be located at different heights within the oven chamber.
The bake element is sometimes hidden, i.e., disposed beneath the bottom surface of the oven chamber, while in other instances the bake element is mounted above the lower surface and exposed in the oven chamber. In this latter situation, the lowermost shelf position is still located at a predetermined height above the bake element so that a rack supported along opposite edges by the shelf portions is situated above the bake element. However, there is an increased desire to maximize the usable space or volume of the oven chamber. Likewise, there is a desire to use existing components in a variety of ways to maximize the flexibility for the user.
Consequently, a need exists for an oven rack that can be installed on one of the multiple oven rack guides or shelf portions and alternatively be placed on the bottom surface of the oven chamber or oven cavity to maximize usable space, eliminate interference with the door and other components, and provide for flexibility and multiple options for the user.